 Dear colleagues, this December, the world has a chance to set us on the path toward the Global Knowledge Society. Over 1,500 delegates from around the world, including representatives from national governments, industry experts, and civil society advocates, will meet at the Dubai World Trade Center to discuss and debate a new set of international telecommunication regulations. The ITRs are a binding global treaty designed to facilitate international interconnection and interoperability of information and communication services, as well as ensuring their efficiency and widespread public availability. This treaty sets out principles for assuring the free flow of information around the world, promoting affordable and equitable access for all, and strengthening the foundation for ongoing innovation and market growth. The ITRs were last negotiated in Melbourne, Australia in 1988. They have served as well, setting the stage for the mobile revolution in the birth of the Information Society. But there is now broad consensus that they need to be updated to reflect the dramatically different technology landscape of the 21st century. The World Conference on International Telecommunications is about putting ICTs in the hands of all the world's people. It is about building global consensus on strategies to promote the free flow of information, the continued development of broadband, the use of smart technologies to combat climate change, the business models that will promote continued investment in the networks, services and applications we all now rely on, and a shared vision of how to create a harmonious international environment that will continue to drive the innovation that is the lifeblood of the ICT sector. Wicked 12 is where these fundamental issues will be openly debated in search of solutions that work for all. Through to ITU's culture and our 147-year history of helping the world communicate, the defining theme of this event will be consensus by their very nature global networks and services need to be able to connect regardless of where they were invented or by whom they need to be able to talk to one another, to speak one another's language. This emphasis on understanding, on sharing and on exchange is embedded in ITU's blood. This is why I have no doubt that we will come away from Dubai proud of the agreements we have forged together, agreements that will serve as a cornerstone of an exciting new wave of industry growth and the development of new services that we have not yet even dreamed of. When the time comes to sign the final act of the landmark new treaty, I believe every delegate in the room will be able to hold their head high, proud of the vital role they have played in fulfilling ITU's vision of connecting the world.